Engines, namely reciprocating internal combustion engines and jet engines, are susceptible to wear in areas of limited lubrication between contacting metal surfaces. Illustratively, in internal combustion engines it is believed that the upward motion of the piston causes wear in the region of the upper cylinder walls. Although lubricants prevent cylinder wear on the downward stroke, during the upward stroke the reduced amount of lubricant on the cylinder wall tends to increase the wear as the piston advances towards the top of its stroke. The fuel which is in contact with the contacting metal surfaces can, however, influence metal wear.
The use of fatty acids as antiwear additives in fuel compositions has been described; for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,182 of Malec, which discloses the use of aliphatic monocarboxylic acids containing 8 to 20 carbon atoms as antiwear additives for fuels and U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,889 to Perilstein which discloses dimerized unsaturated fatty acids as antiwear additives for fuels.
Triazoles and their derivatives have been described as additives in lubricants and fuels; for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,519,928 to Braid discloses N-t-alkylated benzotriazoles as antioxidant and anticorrosion additives in lubricants, U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,491 to Bridger et al. discloses 5-alkylbenzotriazoles wherein the alkyl group contains from 4 to about 16 carbon atoms as an antiwear additive in lubricants, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,754 to Chibnik discloses Werner coordinated complexes prepared with a benzotriazoles which may be used as antiwear additives in liquid hydrocarbon fuels.
It is believed that none of the prior art patents disclose fuel compositions containing the reaction products of aromatic triazoles and fatty acids of the present invention.